--- description: Craig Spencer, the New York doctor who tested positive for Ebola, is feeling well enough to play the banjo he requested. title: NYC Doctor with Ebola Picks Up Banjo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e8fb4606181c1b0/69876293a988caa2326aa04c/ebola-nyc-craig-spencer2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The NYC Doctor with Ebola Has Picked Up a Banjo by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2014 4:12 AM CUT  Police officers stand outside 546 W. 147th street, the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on Oct. 23, 2014 in New York City. Police officers stand outside 546 W. 147th street, the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on Oct. 23, 2014 in New York City.Bryan Thomas—Getty Images by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2014 4:12 AM CUT Craig Spencer, the New York doctor who tested positive for Ebola, is feeling well enough to [play the banjo](http://nypost.com/2014/11/05/ebola-doctor-doing-well-enough-to-play-banjo-ride-stationary-bike/ "undefined") he requested while in isolation, the _New York Post_ reports. “He is an avid little banjo player and he’s self-taught,” Chriselle Gardner, the mother of Spencer’s fiancée, Morgan Dixon, told the _Post_. “I can tell you, he’s keeping his doctors amused.” “He’s kicking Ebola’s butt — literally,” she added. “He’s going to be getting out soon.” A spokeswoman for the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation tells the Associated Press that Spencer’s condition was upgraded from “serious” to “[stable](https://news.yahoo.com/nyc-doctor-ebola-playing-banjo-hospital-183802923.html "undefined")” last weekend and that he is also using the exercise bike he requested. Spencer contracted Ebola in Guinea and has been quarantined since his diagnosis in New York City since Oct. 23. \[[_New York Post_](http://nypost.com/2014/11/05/ebola-doctor-doing-well-enough-to-play-banjo-ride-stationary-bike/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3571401/nyc-doctor-ebola-banjo-craig-spencer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3571401/nyc-doctor-ebola-banjo-craig-spencer/"},"headline":"The NYC Doctor with Ebola Has Picked Up a Banjo","datePublished":"2014-11-07T04:12:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:17:51.725Z","description":"What else can you do when stuck in a hospital room battling a dangerous virus?","url":"https://time.com/3571401/nyc-doctor-ebola-banjo-craig-spencer/","keywords":["ebola","New York","New York City"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e8fb4606181c1b0/69876293a988caa2326aa04c/ebola-nyc-craig-spencer2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e8fb4606181c1b0/69876293a988caa2326aa04c/ebola-nyc-craig-spencer2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Police officers stand outside 546 W. 147th street, the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on Oct. 23, 2014 in New York City.","caption":"Police officers stand outside 546 W. 147th street, the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on Oct. 23, 2014 in New York City.","creditText":"Bryan Thomas—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3571401/nyc-doctor-ebola-banjo-craig-spencer/","name":"The NYC Doctor with Ebola Has Picked Up a Banjo"}}]}] ```